Solarstalgia is the brand new release from Moscow instrumental prog-rock ensemble Aton Five, a fiery collection of challenging tunes that recall the glory days of psychedelia and vintage progressive rock. The album features the line-up of:
Daniil Bosak -synths, Rhodes piano, accordion
Alexander "Ritchie" Seleznev - all guitars, percussion
Dmitry Smirnov - drums
Mikhail Zenkov - bass, percussion
Anton Ablov - guest organ on track 5
Images of classic Pink Floyd, Hawkwind, Yes, and Gentle Giant pop up throughout Solarstalgia's seven tracks, the music chock full of vintage keyboard sounds, muscular guitar & bass work, and tricky drum fills, which you can hear in full force on "Time" and "The Dreadnought". "A Chain of Events" blends Deep Purple inspired hard rock muscle with prog complexity, heavy riffs combating with fiery synths, solos blazing every which way, while "Milky Way Incident" is 13+ minutes of kick ass intensity, massive Hammond organ jaunts and explosive guitar solos hitting the listener hard & heavy. Check out Seleznev's glorious Ritchie Blackmore inspired solo near the end....killer! The band also toss in the near 18-minute psychedelic monster "The Endless Desert", an homage to Meddle and Ummagumma era Pink Floyd with some Hawkwind and Tangerine Dream thrown in for good measure. Plenty of creepy synth passages, screaming guitar, brooding bass grooves, and tribal drumming on this one.
With the digipack CD edition, there are two live bonus tracks, the hard rocking "Journey", another cool Deep Purple inspired number with some stellar organ & guitar freakouts, and the darker prog of "Woods Made of Stone". Both are excellent additions to what is a really strong album from a band that deserve your immediate attention. An RAIG release.
Track Listing
1.
The Dreadnought 06:33
2.
Journey 08:26
3.
Time 09:24
4.
A Chain of Events 05:42
5.
Milky Way Incident 13:25
6.
Death? 01:31
7.
The Endless Desert 17:37
8. Journey (Live at Mars) 8:07 (bonus track)
9. Woods Made of Stone (Live at Mars) 4:43 (bonus track)